Christian Learning Centers joins with BJU to provide college scholarships
June 1, 2017
GREENVILLE, SC – Christian Learning Centers is collaborating with Bob Jones University to provide up to 10 scholarships to deserving students annually.
This is the first time that CLC is offering a scholarship program, said Janice Butler, the organization’s executive director. These scholarship awards will be renewable annually, based on satisfactory academic progress, to provide recipients with the assurance they can focus on academics, not tuition expenses. The scholarship will be funded by the BJU Bridge Scholarship Fund.
“This is a great opportunity for CLC to further enhance the lives of young people in the Greenville area,” Butler said.
To be eligible for the CLC Scholarship, an applicant must meet a rigorous criteria: show evidence of a strong Christian testimony; have earned a high-school GPA of 3.0 or higher; demonstrate financial need and qualify as a minority under the scholarship guidelines from BJU.
Christian Learning Centers provides biblical instruction to school-age children as an opportunity to encourage them to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, grow in the Christian faith, and apply biblical principles for living, Butler said. The program serves more than 1,800 students in 15 middle schools and two high schools in Greenville.
With the support of approximately 40 churches, 274 volunteers, and a small staff, Christian Learning Centers provides Released-Time Christian Education, which is a time during the school day when students are released from school (with parent permission) to study Bible at an off-school campus location, she said.
CLC Board Member Stan Tzouvelekas helped put together the plan for the scholarship and said the CLC leadership hopes to offer scholarships to other colleges in the area soon.
“This is a historic moment for Christian Learning Centers,” he said. “We are creating another level of our mission to serve the youth of Greenville County and give them a strong foundation in Christ.”
Successful applicants will receive a scholarship in the name of the Christian Learning Centers for the balance of their tuition bill, less $2,000, which equals approximately 7.5 hours per week worked in an on-campus job during the academic year. This is a tuition-only scholarship.
Each applicant will have the opportunity to accept or reject the scholarship award; the scholarship list can be revised if a prospective recipient declines the award.
The exact scholarship amount will be the balance due after Pell grants, state scholarships, BJU aid and the $2,000 work component are deducted from the cost of tuition. The Christian Learning Centers will also inform winning students of on-campus job opportunities to help fulfill the work component. While the scholarship is not dependent on employment, we feel the work component makes the scholarship students feel more vested in their educations, and thus, more likely to succeed.
“The CLC exists to create a positive influence on the lives of young people,” Butler said. “This scholarship program allows us to create more of an impact.”
About Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County
Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County offers biblical instruction to area middle and high school students during the school day when students are released from school to study Bible at an off-school campus location. Learn more at www.clcofgreenville.org.
